


The Hunger Games

by FadedRiddler



Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Killing, Slow Burn, The Hunger Games AU, maybe smut later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24570301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FadedRiddler/pseuds/FadedRiddler
Summary: The AU in which Villanelle is the tribute from District 1 and Eve is the tribute from District 12.
Relationships: Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Comments: 27
Kudos: 139





	1. The Reaping

When Villanelle wakes up the morning of Reaping Day, she feels excited. 

Finally, she will have something to distract her from the boring life of luxury in District 1, even if it's just for a few weeks. 

This is her sixth year of being eligible for the Games and if she doesn't get chosen, she will volunteer. 

She wants to be in the arena. She _needs_ to be in the arena. She wants the thrill of the chase, wants to watch the soul leave the bodies of the other tributes. It's almost ironic how alive death makes her feel. She will win easily. She is so much smarter than all of them, so much better than all of them. 

Anna stirs next to her in the bed. 

"Good morning," Villanelle says softly, kissing her forehead. "Last night was great." She's referring, obviously, to their three hours of sex the night before in celebration of The Hunger Games. Anna blushes and Villanelle loses herself in stroking her beautiful, curly brown hair. It's what initially drew Villanelle to her, but she stayed because Anna made her feel loved. Wanted. Things that Villanelle had never been before. 

Her father had died at a young age and her mother had left her for the Capitol when she was eleven. She hardly remembers what they look like anymore. She hardly remembers them anymore.

"Are you sure you want to go to the Games?" Anna asks. Villanelle meets her eyes and tries to work out what she sees in them. Hope? Fear? 

"Of course," she answers simply. If she didn't want to, she wouldn't have told Anna she was going to volunteer. Villanelle is nothing if not honest. 

"What if you die?" 

"I won't."

"But what if you do?" Anna presses, and Villanelle starts to get annoyed. 

"I won't. Konstantin has been training me." Konstantin is the closest thing she has to a father and he owns the training center where District 1 kids learn to fight. Learn to kill. It only took one session for him to realize that Villanelle had natural talent and pulled her aside to offer her private lessons. He's also the top mentor for the Games. 

Anna frowns. "Konstantin trains everyone. And what about District 2? Those kids are good."

"Not as good as me," Villanelle responds. She's been told she's arrogant before, but she knows she's the best. 

"Maybe you should make an alliance with a few other tributes. Maybe join the Careers?" Anna suggests this gently because she knows how Villanelle feels about the Careers. 

Sure enough, Villanelle's nose wrinkles in disgust. "I work alone."

"I'm worried about you, Villanelle." 

Villanelle ignores this and climbs out of bed, feeling Anna's eyes on her naked body. She dresses in a green striped suit and green pants and lets Anna crawl to the edge of the bed and braid her hair. 

"Can I ask you something?" Anna says tentatively. Villanelle nods. "Why haven't you volunteered before if you're so eager to go to the arena?" 

"Konstantin wouldn't let me. He wanted to train me more and wanted to make sure I was ready."

"Ready for the Games?"

Villanelle shrugs. "I assume that's what he was talking about."

Before she leaves the room, she turns around to face Anna, who is reclined against the pillows. "I'll be fine," she tells her, but Anna's lips purse and her forehead creases. 

Outside her house, the street is full of people running wild. Unlike in some Districts, Reaping Day here is a cause of celebration; kids twelve to eighteen look forward to the honor of being chosen to fight and the parents watch the ceremony with great pride. Last year, three boys volunteered and they had to fight for the spot. Villanelle hopes this Reaping is quick and easy. No need for this to drag on. 

Once she's checked in, she pushes her way through the crowd of eighteen year old girls until she's standing in front of their section, staring at the stage while someone from the Capitol walks to the center of it. It's a woman with gray straight hair and a poofy green dress. Jewels have been painted onto her body, the same jewels that she has most definitely received from District 1. Villanelle rolls her eyes. She could never live in the Capitol simply because of the fashion and body choices and expectations. She knows she is beautiful and would never do anything to change her appearance. 

She finds herself wondering if her mother has followed in suit of the Capitol people and colored her hair or got surgery to make herself look younger, but immediately shuts that thought down. 

"Good afternoon, District 1!" the Capitol woman announces into the microphone. Everyone in the square roars loudly. "Before we get to the Reaping, we have a video to watch first." The crowd directs its attention to the huge screen to the right of the stage and Villanelle mumbles the script under her breath word for word, having heard it five times already. 

_War. Terrible war._

President Carolyn Martens then goes on to describe the Dark Days and the origin for the Hunger Games and how they're a brave and courageous sacrifice in order to never let the Districts forget what happens when they try to rebel. Villanelle wishes they would at least try to change it every few years. The video gets old after you've seen it so many times. 

"I get chills every time," the lady says in awe once it's over. "Alright, and now onto the Reaping. As always, ladies first." 

Villanelle holds her breath as the woman reaches into the large bowl and watches as her fingers dance through the tiny slips of paper. She pulls one out and calls a name. 

The name is not Villanelle's. 

In a flash, Villanelle has volunteered as tribute and walks onto the stage. She can spot Konstantin through the crowd. He nods at her. 

"And we have a volunteer! What's your name?" 

"Villanelle Astankova," she says proudly. 

"Well, Villanelle, I'm sure we're all looking forward to your performance in the Hunger Games. And now, for our male tribute." 

The boy tribute is a kid named Sebastian. Villanelle's never seen him before but she judges him handsome enough. Strong cheekbones. Blonde hair. It's too bad that he will have to die; Villanelle could've had fun with him. 

They shake hands and everyone claps.

"If you both will follow me," the Capitol woman says, and they're escorted by Peacekeepers into the building behind them. "You will now go to separate rooms where people will have three minutes each to say goodbye." 

Anna is the first person that comes to see her and throws her arms around Villanelle tightly. They spend an entire minute like this; Anna embracing her and Villanelle awkwardly standing there. She's never really liked hugs. 

"Please be careful," Anna tells her once she's finally let go of Villanelle. 

"I'm always careful," she replies and Anna sighs deeply. "Are you mad at me for going?" Villanelle has always had a hard time understanding what Anna was feeling and why she was feeling it. Anna should be proud of her! Not angry or disappointed or however else she was feeling. 

"I'm not mad. I'm just...worried." She's worried again. How can Villanelle make her not worry? Why can't Anna see that she will be just fine?

The Peacekeepers come in to warn them that they only have a minute left. 

"I'll see you soon," Villanelle promises. She gives Anna a quick kiss and watches her leave. The doors close behind her and Villanelle slumps into a chair. She will not have any more visitors. 

And then the doors open back up. And a woman walks inside. She's a brunette, nose a little crooked, kind of hot. She has a white shirt on, black pants, and a stylish black and white scarf around her neck. Villanelle's never seen her before. 

"I think you have the wrong person," Villanelle says, raising an eyebrow when the lady sits in the chair across from her. Villanelle straightens up. 

"I've been watching you, Villanelle." 

"Like, in a kinky way?"

Amusement flashes in the woman's eyes, but she doesn't offer an answer. 

"So..." Villanelle trails off, kicking her legs back and forth impatiently. 

"My name is Hélène **.** Have you heard of The Thorns?"

"Nope." 

"Think of us as like Peacekeepers, but we're willing to get our hands dirty in order to protect the President. We'd like to recruit you," Hélène explains and Villanelle chews on her bottom lip. It all makes sense now, Konstantin wanting to keep her until she was ready. He must be in on this. 

"Does Konstantin work for you?" 

Hélène just smiles. 

"So, what? You're offering me a job? I'm competing in the Hunger Games in about two weeks."

"Think of the Games as a job interview. Win and impress us, we might hire you." Villanelle notes the order of the words and takes it to mean that they won't be impressed by her winning. She has to win _and_ impress them. Probably by putting on a good show. 

"I'll think about it," Villanelle says, shrugging with feigned disinterest. She's kind of annoyed that Konstantin has been training her this whole time not for the Games, but for The Thorns. Yet, this would get her out of District 1 and out of her future with jewels. 

"You still have to win first. If you don't, well, that takes care of that." 

Villanelle makes a face at her. 

"May the odds be ever in your favor," Hélène says and then leaves. The Peacekeeper comes in and tells her that it's time to leave for the Capitol. She follows him to the train and notices that the back of his uniform looks like a leaf. 

Looks like President Martens, who loves her roses, needs both leaves and thorns to keep her safe. 

A few hours later, Villanelle is curled up on the couch in her car on the train, watching the other Reapings. She fast forwards through most of it because all of the other contestants don't seem worth her time. 

Until she gets to District 12. 

Villanelle sits forward and leans onto her knees, heartbeat rapidly increasing. 

It's a girl named Eve Park and she's an Asian woman with amazing hair. 

God, what she would give to run her hands through that luscious, black, curly hair. 

Villanelle falls back, laughing to herself. 

The Games will definitely not be boring this year. 


	2. The Tributes

All things considered, Eve isn't that surprised when her name is called. Her name was entered into the Reaping 42 times, after all. Her family needed the food, and it was either the tesserae, or prostitution. 

But when Niko Polastri is called as the male tribute, Eve is probably more upset about him being chosen than she is. 

Niko has worshipped the ground she steps on since they first started school together. Eve supposes he was a little cute when he was younger, but now, he's growing a mustache and his brown hair is shaggy and all together, it's not a great look. He keeps trying to talk to her and now he has the perfect excuse, seeing as how they're both going into an arena to fight to the death. 

They shake hands and then are led by a purple haired Capitol man into the mayor's house, where they'll get to say their goodbyes. Eve's parents are the only ones who come to see her and, with no surprise, they're both shaking and sobbing. 

"Mom, Dad, it's going to be okay," Eve murmurs while her mom strokes her hair and her dad rubs his wife's shoulder. 

"My only child," her mom cries. "My baby!" 

Eve's eyes tear up and she blinks fast. She's betting that cameras are on her right now, so she can't show weakness. Show weakness, and the other tributes will eat you alive before the Games even begin. 

"You're brilliant, Eve. You can survive. If anyone can survive, it's you," her dad says firmly and Eve nods, despite not believing it. Some Districts, especially the wealthy ones, live for the Games. Their tributes are their pride and joy and they've been trained since a young age. Here in 12, however, becoming a tribute is the same thing as signing a death warrant. 

Eve's not strong. She's not great with weapons. What chance does her brain - no matter how smart it is - stand against the tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4? In other words, she's pretty much doomed. But she still puts on a brave face for her parents, promises them she'll try to win, and then the Peacekeepers are in the room, escorting her to the train that will take her from 12 to the Capitol. 

Her jaw immediately drops when she walks onto the train. It's the nicest thing she's ever seen and it's just a vehicle. Plush white carpet stretches across this car and a diamond chandelier hangs above them. Comfy looking chairs sit to the side in front of a massive television, which is above a stone fireplace. She almost can't wait to see the Capitol. 

She walks into the dining car and inwardly grimaces when Niko is already sitting at the table, along with their mentor, Jamie Hayward. 

Jamie Hayward won the Hunger Games about fifteen years ago, and just by looking at him, it's easy to see why. His arm muscles are so big that Eve doesn't think she could wrap both her hands around them and touch. His eyes are hardened and his face is stern. Eve's only seen him a couple times, but she knows that he won by brute strength alone. He never even touched a weapon. 

It's insanely impressive. 

"Want to sit down?" Jamie asks and Eve realizes she's just been staring at the two of them for at least a minute. She obliges and fills a plate with turkey, grapes, and potatoes. It's the most food Eve has ever had on her plate at one time and she wants to savor all of it. Her mouth waters at the smell and she digs in, forgetting for just a moment that she will be dead in two weeks. 

"This is so good," she moans once she's scooped potatoes into her mouth. Jamie winces at the sight of food in her mouth but Eve just ignores him. Niko and him must've already eaten - or they're just not hungry - because they just sit there and watch her. It'd be awkward if Eve wasn't starving. 

When she's done, Jamie says, "The key to winning is to play by your strengths, so what are you two good at?" 

Eve and Niko glance at each other. 

"I'm smart. I can be pretty athletic when I want, I guess," Eve tells them. Jamie sighs disapproving and turns to Niko. 

"She's not just smart. She's a genius. She's incredibly good at observing and adapting," Niko praises and Eve raises an eyebrow. Is this some sort of strategy to make her like him? Maybe he's trying to form an alliance with her. 

Well, she works better alone. 

"What can you do, Niko?" Jamie presses. Eve searches through her mind for the answer. What can he do? He likes to learn. He's kind. That's pretty much all she knows about him. 

Niko shrugs defeatedly. "Not much." 

"Great. Just once, I wish they'd send me two who actually have a chance," Jamie mutters under his breath, but Eve and Niko still hear him. 

"Why are you here then?" Eve snaps. "If we're so hopeless, then just leave. Don't bother helping us since clearly we're not worth your time." Jamie stares at her for a second and then gets up and leaves. 

Eve laughs bitterly and turns to Niko. 

"Looks like it's just the two of us," he says. Eve gets up and leaves too. 

She ends up in one of the chairs, curled up under a blanket, watching the replays of the Reapings. 

From District 1, the luxury district, a girl named Villanelle volunteers and a boy named Sebastian is chosen. Eve pauses and zooms in on Villanelle's face. Her first thought is: _holy shit, she's gorgeous._ Her second thought is: _I wouldn't mind it if she kills me._ Her third thought is: _wait, I don't want to die._

Once she has her priorities sorted out, she analyzes Villanelle. She has very delicate features, cat-like eyes with a direct and chilling look, an arrogant tilt of her head like she knows she's better than everyone else. Eve is immediately intrigued by her. 

The District 2 tributes are a girl named Rhian and a guy called Raymond. District 2 is the masonry and defense district, providing weapons and training Peacekeepers. District 2 tributes are always play a huge part in the Games and these two look like they'll certainly be contenders. Rhian is tall and lean with an intimidating gleam in her eye. Raymond is bigger and kind of ugly. Eighteen and it looks like he's already starting to bald. 

Audrey and Kenny are District 3's tributes. By the way they look at each other, Eve thinks that feelings are definitely involved between them. Neither of them look particularly dangerous, but District 3 is known for its technology. All of the victors from there have won by using a wire or some tech equipment, so Eve makes sure not to count them out. 

From the fishing District, Gemma and Felix. Gemma immediately bursts into tears when her name is called, but Felix gets on stage and flexes so that his muscles ripple through his tank top. He looks younger, maybe fifteen. District 4 is one of the Districts that make up the Career pack, but Eve thinks that Felix is the only District 4 tribute that will get the offer. She doubts Gemma will make it past the first hour. 

A creepy looking guy named Aaron is the boy tribute from District 5, power. Jess is the girl tribute, and she looks absolutely disgusted at having to shake hands with Aaron. Eve smiles a bit. 

Jin and Pyotr from District 6, transportation. 

Irina, who looks about thirteen, is called from District 7. Her orangish hair gleams in the sun and her smirk is startling to Eve. Pyotr also gets called and he looks pretty strong. 7 is woodwork, so he probably knows his way around some tools. 

Geraldine and Mo from 8, textiles. 

From District 9, Nadia and Diego. Diego kisses Nadia on screen, who looks less than thrilled. They look fed enough, but they do run the grain industry. 

From District 10, Elena and Bear. Eve snorts at the irony of a boy named Bear in the livestock district. 

In District 11, there's outraged cries when a twelve year old boy, Bor'ka gets chosen. Eve's heart lurches at the thought of someone so young being brutally killed. A girl named Maria also gets picked. 

And then there's District 12. Eve watches her own Reaping and suddenly, it feels too real. The gravity of the situation finally sinks it. 

She is going to die. 

Tears stream down her cheeks as she sobs quietly into the blanket. She isn't a killer. Sure, the Hunger Games fascinate her. Sure, watching innocent kids turn into savages draws her in. But she can't win. 

She is going to die. 

And then she gets ahold of herself. 

She's brilliant. If the tech District can win with brains, then so can she. She just needs to study her competition. Figure out what their strengths are, and how Eve can turn them into weaknesses. 

So she rewatches the Reapings. She feels better this time. The only person who really stands out to her is Villanelle from District 1. There's just something about her, and dammit, Eve wants to know what it is. 

Eve wants to know everything about her. 


	3. The Parade

For the past two days, all Villanelle is able to think about is Eve. She wonders what Eve is doing, if she's getting along with her mentor and other tribute, if Eve has rewatched the Reapings and noticed Villanelle. 

At night, when she fucks herself, she thinks of Eve. 

Anna crosses her mind for a split second but Anna is boring, predictable. 

Eve is fascinating. 

She wants to pin Eve up against a wall and shove a hand down her pants. She wants to tangle her fingers through Eve's hair and hold her right where she needs her. She wants to lavish Eve with expensive things and drape her body in silk and give her jewels. Only the nicest things for Eve. 

Somewhere between her third and fourth orgasm, she realizes she doesn't want to kill Eve. 

She doesn't want anyone else killing Eve either. Eve is _hers._

Well, shit. 

There can't be two winners. 

It's Eve, or her. 

The choice has always been so easy for Villanelle. She'd always chosen herself over and over in a heartbeat. 

But now?

Now she's not so sure. 

***

"All of the strongest tributes are arrogant," Eve explains to Niko and Jamie the day of the parade. They had arrived in the Capitol yesterday afternoon and now they were actually starting to talk strategy. Jamie had finally given in to their pleading after he had stormed off that night in the dining cart and he promised to give them their best shot. "Especially the ones from the Career Districts. Aaron Peel from 5 might be the most. Look at him." Eve points to the screen on the wall which replays his Reaping. She's watched the Reapings so many times just looking for weaknesses. It helps her take her mind off her almost assured death. 

"He just looks bored," Jamie says. Eve rolls her eyes. 

"Exactly. He just got picked to fight to the death, you'd think he'd show a little emotion," Eve tells them. "He's not muscular, he's actually pretty skinny. But he's not scared. Why? Because he has something else going for him." 

"What?" Niko asks and Eve prays to God that they don't run into each other in the arena. Niko would surely beg her to help him and then she'd have to watch out for two people because he's helpless. 

"I haven't figured that out yet. He doesn't look particularly friendly so I don't think he's counting on making alliances."

"Maybe he's just putting on a face. He could be freaking out inside," Jamie offers. 

"No, I don't think so. This seems real." Eve stares thoughtfully at the paused screen of Aaron. 

"Well, anyone else we should watch out for?" 

Eve turns back to face them. 

"Villanelle Astankova from District 1. She volunteered." 

"Lots of people from Districts 1 through 4 volunteer. It's an honor to be chosen there," Jamie says and Eve nods in agreement. 

"Yes, but I don't think she did it for the honor. For the glory and attention, probably. She thinks she can win. She's very prideful and I think she could be dangerous. Look-" Eve rewinds to the Reaping of District 1 and pauses it again. "-at her face. Her eyes. She's totally focused, yet almost entirely inaccessible. She'll be a force to be reckoned with in the arena." 

"So the girl from 1 and the boy from 5. Those are the only people you think stand a chance?" Jamie's voice is tainted with disbelief and Eve runs through the mental list she made on each tribute. 

"Both District 2 tributes will definitely be hard to beat. And maybe a few others will be a dark horse. But yeah, that's pretty much it." 

There's a knock on the door and an Avox pokes her head in. She points to Eve and then holds up a box. Eve takes the package from her and the Avox leaves. 

"What is it?" Niko asks. Eve shrugs. Maybe her parents sent her something? 

She tears off the tape and opens it. It's a bottle of perfume with the words _La Villanelle_ on it in fancy writing. Eve's heart skips a beat. She starts to open the bottle when Jamie snaps at her to leave it alone. 

"Another tribute sent you that, Eve. How do you know that it's not poison? She could just be trying to knock the numbers down a bit before the Games even begin," Jamie hisses. Eve doesn't think that's what's happening, but rather than argue, she tells Jamie he's right and packs up the box and takes it to her room. 

An hour later, she's being dressed for the parade. Since they're from District 12, Eve expects her and Niko to be dressed like coal miners or dirt. 

But instead, her stylist reveals a gown that looks like a flame: blue at the hem, and then red, orange, and at the top, yellow. It's beautiful. Eve reaches out to touch it and it's the softest thing she's ever felt. 

"Wow," she breathes and her stylist chuckles. 

She looks fantastic in it. She fluffs out her hair and then runs back to her room for one more thing. 

***

Villanelle's dress for the parade is covered in gold. Literally. And she obviously looks fabulous. Sebastian, on the other hand, does not look great. His hair is the same color as his suit, which makes it look dyed and light colors do not compliment his skin tone. He should've been wearing blue. But at least she looks good. 

While the horses are still being calmed down and the chariots are still being added to, Villanelle looks around for Eve. She hopes that her gift was passed along and she prays that Eve knows who it was from. 

She spots her toward the back, looking delicious. Her stylist clearly knew what colors to dress her in. Villanelle makes her way over there and watches in dismay as Eve starts to put her hair up. Villanelle slides up right next to her. 

"Wear it down," she says and Eve jumps. Her hands let go of her hair and Villanelle reaches over and runs her fingers through it. She sees Eve shudder at the feeling and Villanelle thinks that this might be better than sex. At least sex with Anna. 

She has a feeling sex with Eve would be explosive. 

"Hi," Eve stammers and Villanelle grins widely. 

"Hi, Eve." 

They stare at each other until Villanelle picks up on something. She slowly leans in and watches goosebumps spread across Eve's neck. She sniffs. 

"Are you wearing it?" Villanelle asks with a smirk, taking pleasure in the way Eve's face goes red. She nods shyly. Eve opens her mouth to say something when the host of the Hunger Games, Bill Pargrave, announces that there's only two minutes left before the parade starts. Villanelle winks at her and then walks to her chariot, her heart beating strangely fast. 

"Where did you go?" Sebastian says once she gets back. 

"To check out the competition," Villanelle tells him, chuckling at her little joke. Sebastian just looks at her weirdly and then turns to face forward. 

"And here they come, folks! From District 1, Villanelle and Sebastian! " Bill Pargrave yells over the microphone and the horses start to pull their chariot forward into the sunlight. Everyone in the bleachers on both sides of them shoot up, clapping and screaming their names. She smiles and waves and catches roses that are tossed to her. 

The other tributes are called and then they're all parked in front of the balcony that President Carolyn Martens is standing above them on. Villanelle has to fight the urge to look back and find Eve. 

Carolyn raises her hands and the audience immediately silences. "Welcome, to the 74th Hunger Games! In a week and a half, these 24 tributes will be put to the ultimate test and only one will emerge as victor. May the odds be ever in your favor." 

The crowd goes wild again and the horses pull the chariots back into the garage. 

Now she can look for Eve. She turns around and scans the room, but Eve is already walking away with the other tribute from 12 and her mentor. 

Villanelle huffs in disapproval, but brightens up. 

Everyone has training together for the next week. And everyone eats together. 

There will be plenty of time to talk to Eve. 


	4. Training

During the first day of training, Eve realizes just how physically screwed she is. She can't throw knives. She can barely tie a knot with rope. She can't shoot with a bow and arrow. There's a slight chance she might be able to set a fire with the proper tools, but other than that, she can't hold a candle to some of the other tributes. 

She watches Villanelle the most. Villanelle can fight with just about every weapon this room has, plus she's extremely skilled at hand-to-hand combat. If Eve could bet on anyone, it'd be Villanelle. 

Raymond also seems skilled, but with an axe. Eve stares as he throws axe after axe at a target with incredibly accuracy every time. Eve tries to throw one, but she ends up failing miserably when it doesn't even reach the target, prompting other tributes to snicker at her. She even sees Villanelle smirking. 

So she sits down next to Bor'ka at the camouflaging station and observes him painting his arm as a tree. It's pretty realistic and Eve almost snorts at how this twelve year old boy has a better chance at surviving than she does. She also tries her hand at this, but it turns out that she is not good at art. 

Eve gives up trying to learn something new and walks over to the basic necessities station. She flips through a book about which berries are poisonous and which are safe and reads about how to purify water. 

"Maybe the arena will just be full of food," someone says next to her, and Eve turns to find Bear from District 11 peering over her shoulder. 

"That would be great," Eve remarks. "Wouldn't be much of a Hunger Games if they did that, though." Bear shrugs and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a bag of sweets and offers it to Eve. She scoops out a gracious amount and pops them in her mouth, mumbling a thank you. 

"So, what are you good at?" Bear asks and Eve's eyes narrow suspiciously. "I'm not good at anything." 

Eve chuckles despite not wanting to. "Yeah." She doesn't offer anything else. Jamie warned her and Niko not to trust anyone, not that she needed him to say that. 

"Are you done with that?" Bear points to the book that she's still holding. She hands it to him and goes to the rock wall. A girl - Elena, Eve's pretty sure - is already standing there, looking up. 

"God, I really hope I don't have to climb a cliff in the Games," Elena tells her. Eve smiles politely. She doesn't understand the point of talking to the other tributes. There's no need to pretend to be nice when they all know the second they get in the arena, they will all become ruthless. 

"Have either of you ever climbed before?" another girl asks, walking over to them. It's Jess, from District 5. Both Eve and Elena shake their heads. "Well, it's either this, or listen to Aaron drone on about the power industry and how he's going to take over it once he wins." Elena looks sympathetic but Eve remains expressionless. "If I got to pick any one of the tributes in here to kill, it'd be Aaron. I get myself to sleep some nights imagining kicking him out a window straight onto a railing.” 

Eve grins. She wants Jess as an ally. Maybe Elena, too. 

At lunch, the three of them sit together. She spots Villanelle frowning at them from a different table and Eve remembers that it was only yesterday that Villanelle had leaned toward her and smelled her. It had been so intimate, and fuck, it was hot. 

She shivers and feels the ghost of Villanelle’s warm breath on her neck again. 

”You okay, mate?” Jess asks. Eve nods and turns back to her food. It’s soup and chicken sandwiches. Somehow, every meal in the Capitol seems better than the last. 

“What’s the deal with Aaron?” 

Jess looks at Eve in surprise. “What do you mean?” 

Eve motions towards him. He’s sitting all alone, but he looks perfectly contempt with this. “He’s not friendly. He doesn’t look strong. Is it all just an act?” Not knowing has been driving her crazy the past few days. 

Jess shrugs. “He genuinely believes he’s above everyone else. He refuses to talk to me about his strategy for the Games. Our mentor has all but given up on him.” 

Eve makes a face but doesn’t press. Conversation soon turns to the private training session with just the Gamemakers at the end of the week. 

”I have no idea what I’m going to do,” Eve admits. 

“I’ll probably just paint something,” Elena says. “Maybe a picture of home. I don’t know.” 

“I’m with you, Eve. I don’t have the slightest idea of what to do,” Jess tells them and Eve laughs along with her and Elena. 

After lunch, they have training with their mentors for the interview that will happen two days after the private training session with the Gamemakers. 

”You have to pick an approach. How do you want to appear to the Capitol and how do you want them to perceive you? The Games are a popularity contest, nothing more than a television show for the Capitol’s amusement. You want sponsors? You want to stay alive? You need to get them to like you, to root for you. And you do that at the interviews,” Jamie tells them. “Eve, you seem good natured enough. Let’s do a practice interview and just try to be sincere.” 

He asks a question about life in District 12. “Well,” Eve answers. “It’s certainly not easy. Every day is a struggle to survive and -”

“Stop, stop,” Jamie interrupts, waving a hand. “You’re throwing yourself a pity party. No one wants to hear about how hard it was living there.”

”But you asked me about living there!”

Jamie rolls his eyes. “It’s not about the truth, Eve. It’s about telling these people what they want to hear. The Games don’t start in the arena, they started the second your name was called in the Reaping. So learn to play.” He switches to Niko, who tries to be humorous but ends up failing worse than Eve. 

They try different techniques and different questions but nothing seems to stand out. Finally, Eve has had enough. She falls back into the couch and covers her head with her hands and groans. 

Jamie stops talking to Niko and glances at her. 

”Why can’t we just be ourselves,” she moans through her fingers.

”Because they need to like you,” Jamie snaps. Eve storms off to her room and flops onto the bed, her foot tapping anxiously on the floor. She pushes herself up and walks over to the dresser, where the bottle of _La Villanelle_ still sits. She uncorks it and breathes in the scent.

It’s just enough to calm her down. 

  
***

The week passes by quickly and it seems like Eve is always with someone, making it almost impossible for Villanelle to talk to her alone. But during the lunch before the private session, she catches sight of Eve sitting by herself while her friends are still getting food. Villanelle quickly makes a beeline for her and slides into the chair across from her. Eve visibly stiffens. 

”What do you want?” Eve asks. Villanelle grins. It’s clear that she makes Eve nervous.

”I just want to have dinner with you. Or rather, lunch,” Villanelle answers, noting the time of day. She’d love to take Eve out for dinner sometime, though. She imagines walking down District 1, holding hands with Eve while they head to her favorite restaurant. 

“Okay.” 

Villanelle raises an eyebrow. That was certainly easier than expected. 

“So nice to finally meet you, for real,” Villanelle remarks. 

”You too.” 

Villanelle nods at Eve’s tray. “Are you going to finish that?” Eve shakes her head and slides the half eaten Shepherd’s pie over. Villanelle eagerly digs in. 

”How did you learn how to train like that?” Eve asks. 

Villanelle shrugs. “We’re taught lessons from a young age. I was a natural,” she boasts proudly. “I can teach you, if you’d like. I’m very good.” 

”I think that’d be quite pointless, seeing as how our private training sessions are in thirty minutes,” Eve replies cooly. Villanelle just smirks. 

“So what’s it like in 12?”

Eve grits her teeth and remembers Jamie’s words. _No one wants to hear about how hard it was living there._

”We managed,” is all Eve says. Thankfully, Villanelle doesn’t push. “What was it like in 1?”

“Beautiful. Boring.” 

”Boring,” Eve repeats incredulously. “How?” 

”Everything was the same. I get bored very easily, Eve.” For the first time in about a week, Villanelle thinks of Anna. She knows she should feel guilty but she doesn’t. 

She hardly feels anything. Except for when she’s with Eve. For some reason, Eve makes her feel things. She can’t really describe it, but if she had to try, it would probably be _warmth._

They sit in not uncomfortable silence until the tributes are told to go to the waiting room. Sebastian is the first to be called in for his session with the Gamemakers. Villanelle hasn’t had a single conversation with him since they’ve gotten here. It’s about a ten minute wait and then it’s Villanelle’s turn. 

She feels Eve’s eyes on her the entire time while she walks to the door. 

Bill Pargrave and other Gamemakers are standing on a balcony about twelve feet above the ground. She doesn’t bother smiling at them. 

”Villanelle Astankova from District 1,” she announces. Bill nods for her to begin. 

First, she walks over to the knife throwing station. Five knives, five perfect throws. 

She’s rusty with the axe and the bow but still manages to hit the bullseye almost every time. She can hear the Gamemakers muttering above her. 

And now, for the grand finale. 

She had wanted to ask for a volunteer and then make a show of killing him. If that didn’t impress Hélène, then probably nothing would. But Konstantin said no, so she will just have to make do with a dummy. 

She ties a rope to the dummy’s feet and then uses a lever on the wall to hoist it up. She then takes a long knife and guts it in the stomach, grabbing red paint and splattering it all over the dummy. She turns around to the Gamemakers and raises an eyebrow. 

”Thank you, Miss Astankova,” Bill says, his voice void of emotion. She does a little curtsy and then walks out. 

That night, the scores on a scale from 1-12 are broadcasted one television. 

Villanelle gets a 10. 

Eve gets an 11, and that’s the highest score out of everyone. 

“Wow,” Villanelle whispers to herself in awe, ignoring the weird look Konstantin gives her. 

It seems like she and Eve have more in common than she realizes. 

A slow smile spreads over her face. 


	5. The Interviews

The night before the Hunger Games begin, all the tributes get three minutes to talk with Bill Pargrave in front of the Capitol, and it's broadcasted on live television. Watching is required. This is how you get sponsors. 

Eve is unbelievably nervous. After her 11 in the private training session, all of Panem is expecting a lot from her. Even her fellow tributes, it seems, as they're looking at her with confusion and slight admiration, whereas before, it was almost pity. 

She's still in shock from her score. Since she was the last one to go yesterday, all she had done was walk around the room, pointing at the things left behind from the other tributes and explaining to the Gamemakers who had done it and why she thought that. She had gotten almost all eleven with complete accuracy. She hadn't thought it was that impressive, but apparently they did. 

Or they just wanted to put a target on her back. 

"Good evening to all of Panem!" Bill Pargrave announces from on stage. Eve's heart skips a beat. She still has awhile until it's her turn, but she's already starting to sweat through her blue and white dress. Jamie and her had never decided on an approach for her to take, so Eve pretty much was going to wing it. "As you all know, tomorrow is the first day of the Hunger Games!" 

The crowd goes wild and Eve feels sick to her stomach. Her eyes find Villanelle, who is sitting still, wearing a light blue mermaid gown with flowers on it. She even has a pink flower tucked behind her ear and it makes her dark blonde hair pop. 

Villanelle will surely have no problem getting sponsors. They will love her from the moment she walks out there. 

Villanelle feels Eve looking at her and turns to meet her stare. Eve's breath catches and Villanelle smiles reassuringly. For some reason, that really helps and her heart stops racing. 

"Do you guys want to meet the tributes?" Bill yells to the crowd. They scream and clap. "It sure sounds like you do! Alright, from District 1, Villanelle Astankova!" 

She winks at Eve and then she walks out on stage, waving to the thousands of people in front of her. Eve watches all of this from the screen in the room they're waiting in. Villanelle is a natural. 

"Now, we all saw you volunteer for that girl back in your home. Tell us about that," Bill says, holding the microphone towards her. Eve is sure he's expecting some sweet story about how they were friends, and rather than let her die, Villanelle stepped up to take her place. But Eve doesn't think that's what he's going to get. 

Villanelle shrugs. "I've been training for years now and that was my last chance to get in the arena. I thought it'd be fun." People laugh, but Eve tilts her head thoughtfully. Everyone else must think she's taking a sarcastic, dark humor approach as a way to cover up how she really feels, but Eve thinks she's being serious. 

"You got a 10 in the training room yesterday, the second highest score. When I saw you, I thought to myself: 'there's no way anyone will be able to beat that'. But then someone did. How did you respond to another tribute getting an 11?" 

Eve freezes and Villanelle smirks. "I was very impressed. It told me a lot about her. It may not seem like it, but I think Eve and I have a lot in common and I'm excited to see what happens in the arena." 

The other tributes glance at her but Eve just stares ahead at the wall, her face heating up. 

She is nothing like Villanelle. 

"Is there anything you would like to add?" Bill asks and Villanelle chews on her bottom lip. 

"I just hope that I can put on a show and really entertain you all." 

People cheer and stand up to applaud while Villanelle walks off the stage. 

Next is Sebastian. He tries to keep his cool, but it's pretty clear that he's a nervous wreck. 

"Poor guy," Elena whispers. Eve nods. 

"It's crazy to think that he and Villanelle are from the same District," Jess remarks. Eve frowns. She had thought that everyone from the lower Districts was arrogant just by default because of how good their life was. It seems like she was wrong. 

Next is Rhian. 

"Now, Rhian, you went a little different direction when it comes to clothes. All of the other female tributes are wearing dresses, but you have pants and a jacket. Walk us through your outfit," Bill says and Eve almost laughs. 

"I wanted to be comfortable. I was taught to wear clothes that allow a full range of motion," she answers. Eve can imagine Villanelle's face right now, scrunched up in disbelief. 

"She's kind of scary," Jess mutters and Elena whole-heartedly agrees. 

"I think it's an act." The other two turn and raise an eyebrow at Eve. "I think she's pretending to be tough." 

After Rhian, it's Raymond. He also promises to put on a good show and Eve hears Aaron quietly snort from his corner. She looks at him, but he keeps his eyes trained on the television. 

District 3 goes. Then District 4. Gemma has obviously tried to be sexy with a red gown that has a long slit up the side and a neckline that drops dangerously low. She answers in a girly voice - although that might just be her normal voice - and bats her eyelashes and twirls her hair. Felix boasts proudly about his five big brothers that have taught him how to fight. 

And then it's Jess's turn. Bill asks her the same basic questions and she answers them with dry humor. It's clear that Bill doesn't get some of her responses, but he laughs loudly anyway. At the three minute mark, he bids her good night and good luck and calls for Aaron. 

"So, Aaron, do you have a strategy going into the Games?" 

"I'm not announcing my strategy on live television in front of the other tributes," Aaron says with disinterest. Eve finds herself hating his better-than-you personality.

"Do you think you can win?" 

"Yes."

Bill continues with the interview, with Aaron giving only one word responses. 

It's safe to say that he will not have any sponsors at the end of this, which freaks Eve out a little. She still hasn't been able to figure out what he has up his sleeve. 

The rest of the tribute interviews go by in a blur for Eve. She only remembers a few details; Jin from District 6 is small, quiet, reserved. Bill gives her a nickname: The Ghost. Irina is sassy and the audience loves it. Geraldine is very sincere and empathetic. Elena's interview goes pretty well. 

And then 12 year old Bor'ka walks on stage and a hush falls over the crowd. 

"Bor'ka, I'm sure it's very intimidating with all the older tributes. How have you been doing?" 

He shrugs. "I'm doing all right. I miss my family." Eve's heart softens. 

After he's done, Bill calls for Eve Park. 

"You got this," Niko says quietly and Eve shoots him a smile. She crosses the stage and the audience cheers loudly. It's a bit daunting at first, but then she starts to like it. 

"So, Eve, I'm sure I speak for all of Panem when I say I was very surprised when you got an 11. Maybe you could shed some light on that?" 

"Oh, Bill, I was surprised too. I'm still surprised!" Everyone laughs and Eve beams proudly. They quiet down so she can continue talking. "I'm not going to reveal my secrets, so you'll just have to watch to find out." This is completely misleading but no one needs to know that. It's more likely that she'll get sponsors if she's mysterious because then they'll want to keep her alive to figure her out. 

"Now, historically speaking, District 12 hasn't had the odds in its favor very often. Do you think you can change that?" 

"I'm definitely going to try," she promises, trying not to sound too arrogant. Too many other people have done that. 

"Am I correct in assuming that you watched Villanelle Astankova's interview?" Eve nods. "She said that you two have a lot in common. How do you respond to that?" 

Eve takes a deep breath. "I am very flattered that she thinks that and I'm very interested to find out if she's right." This seems to be the right response because the crowd laughs and cheers. 

"Best of luck to you and may the odds be ever in your favor," Bill tells her. 

"Thank you, Bill." She exits the stage and hears him call for Niko. 

"Nice job out there. I think they liked you," Villanelle says. She's the only one standing there. 

"Were you waiting for me?" Villanelle just smirks. "I hope they liked me. I need all the help I can get." Her heart is beating super fast now and she's not sure if it's because she just finished the interview or because she's talking to Villanelle. 

It's slightly annoying how much of an affect Villanelle has on her. 

"We could always be allies," Villanelle suggests and Eve tries to hide how off guard that catches her. Is this some sort of game? 

"I already have allies," Eve says neutrally. 

Villanelle's lips quirk up. "Just a thought." And then she walks away and Eve's left wondering what the hell that was. 


	6. Let the Games begin

Konstantin wakes her up thirty minutes before everyone else does on the day of the Games. 

"That was just plain rude," Villanelle grumbles, turning over to face him. 

"You'll get over it."

"Have you come to wish me luck?" she asks, slyly smiling. 

"I came to give you this," he says and reaches into his pocket to pull out a gold hairpin. She takes it, unimpressed. "You should wear it. As a token from your District." She twirls it in her hand until she sees the small button on the side. 

Her eyes gleam with understanding. 

"So you do know Hélène." 

Konstantin tries to keep a blank face but Villanelle sees through it. He pats her on the arm. 

"Wear the pin. Make us proud." He leaves her alone and she sits up in her bed. She bites her lip and thinks of Eve, who rejected her offer to be allies last night. She wants to protect her, but she's not sure how. 

She imagines what would've happened if Eve had accepted. Villanelle would've suggested they get a drink to strategize and then they would've made their way up to Villanelle's room after. She would've run her hands through that beautiful hair and kissed those soft lips. She could've made Eve feel so good. 

Villanelle wonders if Eve would let her fuck her in the arena. Would Hélène be impressed with that?

She spends the next twenty minutes thrusting her fingers inside her. When she comes, Eve's name tumbles from her mouth. 

At breakfast, she loads up her plate with eggs, pancakes, and yogurt and fills a cup with a strawberry smoothie. She digs in, raising her eyebrows at Sebastian, who's plate has a single piece of bacon on it. 

"I can't eat right now," he says. 

"You should eat. For all you know, this could be your last meal ever," Villanelle tells him and Konstantin shoots her a look. 

"Villanelle is right about eating. You need all the strength you can get and you don't want to starve to death," Konstantin says and Sebastian concedes and takes a sausage. "Now, when the cannon goes off, what are you doing to do?" He's still looking at Sebastian and Villanelle laughs into her smoothie. 

"Not go to the Cornucopia," Sebastian responds with the answer that has been drilled into him since they've been here. Konstantin trusts Villanelle, but he is extremely doubtful of Sebastian, so he has told Sebastian exactly what to do. The longer both of your tributes survive, the better it makes the mentor look. 

"And Villanelle?" 

"I will step off the platform immediately and get myself blown up," Villanelle says, a grin playing across her face. Once the tributes get into the arena, they must stand on their platforms for sixty seconds before the cannon goes off. If they step off before, the bombs under the ground will go off. 

"Take this seriously," Konstantin scolds. 

"I am very serious," she responds solemnly. Konstantin rolls his eyes. "Fine. I will sprint to the Cornucopia, grab weapons, and then get out of there." She had begged Konstantin to let her stay there and fight the others, but he had told her it was too risky. 

"Good." 

After breakfast, they make their way to the Hovercraft, which will take them to the dressing rooms underneath the arena. She waves at Eve, who is sitting between Jess and Elena. Eve barely acknowledges her. It almost seems like Eve is avoiding her, which annoys Villanelle. She takes a seat in the middle of Aaron and Pyotr, who tries to make conversation, but she shuts him down. 

People from the Capitol walk down the rows saying "Please hold out your arm." They inject a tracker into every tribute and Villanelle rubs the spot. She plans on cutting this out of her the first chance she gets. 

They land and find their stylists, who take them each to a separate room. In the middle of the room is a glass tube. This is what will take them up into the arena. 

The outfit for this year's Hunger Games is a white shirt, black jacket, black cargo pants, and combat boots. It reminds Villanelle of Rhian's travesty of an outfit from the interview last night and she wrinkles her nose in distaste. This is probably the most unflattering thing she's ever worn, but she manages to pull it off. She twists her hair up and holds it in place with the hairpin from Konstantin. 

"Thirty seconds," a voice says over a speaker. Her stylist tells her good luck and she doesn't bother replying. She steps into the tube and closes the door behind her. 

She is ready. 

"Twenty seconds." 

Get to the Cornucopia. Get knives and a backpack if they have it. 

"Ten seconds." 

Should she try to find Eve first or take care of a few tributes? She decides she will fight. She will make an impression by being a huge contributor to the Blood Bath that is the first few minutes of the game. 

The tube starts to move and Villanelle watches as she's lifted out of the dressing room and into the arena. 

***

The moment Eve gets in the arena, she scans the ground. To the right of her, forest. Straight ahead past the Cornucopia, sand. To the left, a cliff. Once she's gotten her bearings, she looks around at the tributes. She sees Villanelle about five platforms to her right. Rhian is two to Eve's left. She's next to Hugo and Mo. She doesn't see Niko, Jess, or Elena. 

She peers at the items in the Cornucopia. She should probably get a knife, but she knows that a lot of other tributes will be going for that, so she sets her sights on one of the orange backpacks on the ground. 

"Twenty...nineteen...eighteen...seventeen..." The countdown keeps doing and Eve focuses on calming her breathing. Jamie had told both her and Niko to get as far away from everyone else as fast as possible, but she can do this. 

"Ten...nine...eight..." Eve plants her left foot behind her right and crouches down a little. 

"Three...two...one! Let the 74th Hunger Games begin!" The cannon goes off and twenty four tributes shoot off their platforms and start running. Eve trips and stumbles a bit but catches herself and sprints toward the backpack. She grabs it and turns to go into the woods when a knife flies by her face, narrowly missing her cheek but nicking her ear. She gently touches it and her fingers come away bloody. 

She spins around to find Rhian coming toward her, flipping another knife in the air. She winds up to throw it and Eve instinctually closes her eyes, saying a silent goodbye and apology to her parents. God, she's pathetic. She can't even survive the first five minutes. 

But then she realizes she's still alive and opens her eyes to find Villanelle shoving Rhian against a tree and repeatedly punching her in the face. Rhian gets a hit in, but she's no match. Eve hurries behind a tree, picking up the knife that Rhian threw at her earlier. 

Villanelle drops her and grabs her by the throat and drags Rhian to the edge of the cliff. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please, don't. Ple-," Rhian begs, but she's cut off short when Villanelle kicks her off. Immediately, a cannon goes off. Villanelle turns around and meets Eve's eyes, which widen in horror. 

Villanelle understands immediately, whirls around, and plunges a knife into the stomach of Hugo. He drops to the ground, gasping. Villanelle pulls the blade out of him and calmly wipes the blood off with her jacket. 

Another cannon. And then more. 

Eve mouths _thank you_ to Villanelle, then looks back toward the Cornucopia. She thinks she sees Aaron Peel and Jin walk off together, but there's no sign of Jess and Elena. There's at least seven bodies on the ground. 

Eve runs into the woods and doesn't turn back. She keeps going until she physically can't anymore and then drops to the dirt. She's hungry and thirsty and tired. She knows she needs to find a safe spot, preferably near water, but she doesn't think a break will hurt. 

She slings the backpack off her shoulder and opens it up. There's trail mix, water bottles and a purifying kit, a blanket and sleeping bag, rope, and some matches, plus the knife from Rhian. Eve allows herself to eat a small bit of the trail mix and then puts it back in the bag. 

She needs to find water now. She's already starting to feel the affects of dehydration and it hasn't even been that long since she last had water. 

Eve starts walking again, but the sun is beating down strongly on her and she stumbles into a tree and slides down. She's feeling very lightheaded and the world is starting to spin, but she can't pass out here, not out in the open. 

So she manages to find some big bushes and hides in them. She grips the knife in one hand and she slowly loses consciousness. 

When she wakes up with a start sometime later, it's almost dark. She looks around, but it seems like no one is there. And then she sees it. 

A few feet away from her is a water bottle and a piece of paper. Eve tentatively picks the bottle up first and opens it and almost sobs with relief. It's full. She gulps down almost half of it before she realizes that it could be poisonous. She then looks at the note and gasps. 

_Sorry, baby. X_

It doesn't take a genius to figure out who it's from. But what is Villanelle apologizing for? She saved Eve's life earlier. 

And then the Panem national anthem starts to play and holograms of the dead tributes show in the sky. 

_Sebastian_

_District 1_

_Killed by: Jin_

_Rhian_

_District 2_

_Killed by: Villanelle_

_Audrey_

_District 3_

_Killed by: Villanelle_

_Gemma_

_District 4_

_Killed by: Villanelle_

_Jin_

_District 6_

_Killed by: Eve_

If Eve had been standing up, she would've fallen over. Somehow, Villanelle made it look like Eve killed Jin. How is that even possible?

_Hugo_

_District 6_

_Killed by: Villanelle_

_Geraldine_

_District 8_

_Killed by: Jin_

_Bear_

_District 10_

_Killed by: Raymond_

_Maria_

_District 11_

_Killed by: Raymond_

The sky goes dark but Eve doesn't sleep at all that night. 


	7. Sorry, Baby

After Eve runs into the woods, Villanelle notes which direction she goes in and then doubles back to the Cornucopia. Aaron and Jin are walking off together, which Villanelle finds very interesting. She never would've thought that Aaron was the type of person who would work with someone else. 

Bear and the pretty girl from District 11 are already dead. Sebastian is lying on the ground, his face pale. She had killed the District 3 girl before she saw Rhian chasing Eve. 

For the Blood Bath, this definitely could've been a lot worse. 

She enters the Cornucopia and shoves knives into her pockets and pokes around the barrels of food when she hears a small whimper. She grins and peers behind the container of dried fruit. 

It's the girl from 4. Gemma, Villanelle remembers. 

Gemma looks up at her, mascara running down her face. "Are you going to kill me?" she asks, her voice timid and high-pitched. Villanelle sighs deeply and nods. Gemma whimpers again and in a flash, Villanelle grabs a plastic bag from another barrel and yanks it over her head. Gemma stares at her with wide eyes and Villanelle looks around for something. She notices tape that's being used as a marker on one of the crates of food, so she takes that and tapes the bottom of the bag so Gemma can't breathe. 

Gemma starts to thrash wildly and Villanelle just watches as she slowly stops struggling. 

There's a cannon. 

Villanelle grabs a backpack and empties it out. She fills it with food and water. She also rips paper out of a journal, stuffs it in the bag along with a pen, and then heads out to find Eve. 

Broken branches and footsteps in the dirt provide a very nice path and Villanelle silently promises Eve that she will teach her to cover her tracks better. Seriously, anyone could've followed her! 

Villanelle hears another cannon. As long as it's not Eve, she doesn't care. 

When she finds Eve, she actually groans out loud. The other woman is sleeping in a bush, which isn't very well hidden. Does Eve want to be killed? If any other tribute had found her, Eve would be dead in a heartbeat. 

Villanelle crouches down next to her. At least Eve had enough common sense to sleep with the knife. She reaches over Eve and pulls her backpack toward her. There's a little food but no water. That makes more sense. She was probably dehydrated and found the best possible place to rest. Villanelle reaches into her bag and pulls out a full bottle. She sets it a few feet away from Eve and chews on her bottom lip. 

Rhian had come straight for Eve after the Games started and Eve clearly would've died if not for Villanelle. She needs a way to show the other tributes that they shouldn't mess with Eve. 

And that's when Eve's friend, Elena, comes stumbling through the woods. Villanelle jumps up and pulls out a knife. Elena gasps and holds up her hands. 

"What have you heard?" Villanelle asks. 

"What?" 

"Who's working together?" she demands. 

"Well Jess and I were supposed to be with Eve," Elena says, nodding to Eve's sleeping body. 

"I can take care of her," Villanelle replies and Elena looks like she's debating whether or not to argue. "Who else?" 

"Uh, I saw Aaron and Jin. He's making her kill people for him and he promises he'll help her family." 

Villanelle's eyebrows shoot up. So Aaron doesn't like to get his hands dirty. How utterly boring. She wonders what would happen if Jin was suddenly not able to work for him anymore. 

"Great. Now leave and go find your other friend. I got Eve." 

Elena opens her mouth to say something but ends up hurrying away. 

A plan starts to form in Villanelle's mind and she reaches down and gently pulls out a few of Eve's beautiful hairs. Eve stirs but doesn't wake up. Villanelle tears off a piece of paper from her bag and writes a note. 

Now for the tricky part. 

She needs find Jin, get her relatively close to Eve, and then somehow make sure the cameras aren't on her when Villanelle kills her. 

She starts to walk away from Eve when she suddenly freezes. 

A branch cracks behind her. 

Maybe _The Ghost_ is a fitting nickname after all. 

Villanelle spins around and there she is. Jin from District 6, roped into killing for Aaron Peel. She's interested to know what made him choose her. 

"Good afternoon," Villanelle says. Maybe if she has a civil conversation with her, the cameras won't be on them. 

Jin nods in reply. 

"So, how are you liking the Games?" 

"They're alright." 

"You know, Jin, it's kind of hard to talk to someone when they don't elaborate on their answers. Come on, tell me about it!"

Jin doesn't say anything and Villanelle groans in frustration. 

"God, you're boring. Maybe that's why Aaron picked you. He's completely dull too." This gets her attention and Villanelle smiles. "Excellent choice on partners, by the way. He must be super fun to work with." 

Screams echo from a distance, providing what Villanelle hopes is an excellent distraction. 

"Oh, thank god," Villanelle says and before Jin can ask what she means, Villanelle has lunged forward and crushed her skull against a tree. Jin falls down, dead. Villanelle takes Eve's hairs out of her pocket and smooths them onto Jin's jacket and hurries to hide before the cameras cut back to them. 

A minute later, there's a cannon and the hovercraft comes to pick Jin up. It's flown away by the time Eve wakes up and Villanelle watches with glee as she finds the bottle of water and a note. As if on cue, the anthem starts and Eve turns her attention to the sky to see the holograms of the fallen tributes. 

Her plan works without a hitch and it appears that Eve is the one who killed Jin. She hears Eve gasp. 

The nightly ritual concludes and Eve lays back down, but she doesn't fall asleep. 

Villanelle stares at her almost the entire night. 

***

The next morning, Eve yawns and pulls herself out of the bush. She dozed off after hours upon hours of just staring at the sky, but she doesn't feel rested at all. She just feels on edge. 

She knows she needs to keep moving. After last night, there will be a target on her back and she needs to find a source of water. She drinks the rest of what Villanelle gave her and then stores the bottle in her bag. 

She eats some trail mix, but that's not enough to keep her stomach from growling loudly. She realizes that the Cornucopia might have food and water left over, so she makes it her plan to go there. She figures that most of the tributes will have tried to put some distance between them and the center of the arena so it should be pretty safe. 

She follows her footsteps from yesterday and then she's there. All the bodies and the blood have been cleared out since she was last here and she's extremely thankful for that. Eve cautiously makes her way up to the mouth of the Cornucopia. 

"Hello?" she asks. There's obviously no reply. She gulps and continues to walk in, studying the shadows on the walls. It doesn't appear that anyone else is in here, so she drops her bag and goes to the barrels of food. There's dried fruit, raw meet, vegetables, loaves of bread, and individual containers of soup. Over to the left are stacks of bottled water. She bites into the bread and moans. 

It might just be because she hasn't eaten real food in about 24 hours, but she thinks this bread is better than any meal from the Capitol. 

After that, she drinks the soup and a full bottle of water. She finally starts to feel more like herself. 

And then she realizes that she's left her guard down for too long. She sees a shadow on the wall and whirls around and opens her mouth to scream -

\- but it's just Villanelle. 

"What the fuck!" is what bursts out of Eve's mouth and Villanelle looks genuinely confused. 

"What? I was checking on you. You've been in here for quite awhile." 

Eve scoffs. "So, you somehow blamed Jin's death on me and now you're following me?" 

"It wasn't that hard, I just got some of your hair and -"

"Why did you do that? Don't you understand what you did?" 

"I made you a threat, Eve. Now people think you can kill. I did you a favor." 

"No, you made me a fucking target! People are going to be hunting me down. People like you, people who have actually killed!" 

"Sponsors aren't going to bet on someone who doesn't do anything, Eve. Because of this, District 12 has hope that they can have a winner because you're someone who is willing to do what it takes. I didn't make you a target, I made you a player in the Hunger Games." 

"No, you made a pawn. You used me," Eve snaps furiously. 

"How did I use you, Eve? What did I possibly have to gain from this? I could've claimed that kill for myself and it actually would've benefitted me a lot. I did this for you." 

That's the last straw for Eve. She launches herself at Villanelle, hitting any inch of her she can reach. 

"Eve," Villanelle grunts, but only defends herself. 

"Fight back!" Eve yells, slapping her across the face. Villanelle grabs her nose and her hand comes back red and sticky. She rolls her eyes and grabs Eve by the jacket collar, pushing her backwards until she's pinning her against the wall. 

"I won't hurt you, Eve," she says and then Eve cuts her off by pressing her lips to hers. She's not sure why exactly she does it - later, she'll claim it was to get Villanelle to lower her guard - but god, it feels so good. 

Villanelle is the first to break the kiss and she stares at Eve in wonder. 

And then Eve rears back her head and headbutts her. Villanelle groans and stumbles off of Eve, catching herself on a barrel. She massages her forehead and vaguely sees Eve walking toward the exit. She turns back for a second. 

"Sorry, baby," Eve says and then she disappears. 


	8. Pumpkin

_Eve kissed her._

That is the only thought going through Villanelle's head as she treks through the forest, trying to find Eve. 

_Eve kissed her._

Apparently Eve has figured out how to better cover her tracks because Villanelle has no idea which way she went. 

_Eve kissed her._

She hears voices through the trees to her left and she slowly heads in that direction to see Diego saying something to Nadia, who won't even make eye contact with him. He's holding a knife to Felix's throat.

"Hey, guys!" Villanelle yells, waving to them. Both of them immediately shush her and beckon for her to come closer. 

"What the hell are you thinking?" Diego hisses. 

"What are you going to do with that?" Villanelle asks curiously and Nadia's eyes flit up to hers and then back to the ground. Diego purses his lips and anger flashes in his eyes.

"Slit his throat, obviously," Diego says. 

"You two have any food?" 

"Not for you," Diego snaps but Nadia nods her head toward a bag on the ground. Villanelle picks up an apple from it and bites into it, watching all of them. Felix's hand twitches and Villanelle knows what's going to happen before it actually does. 

Felix elbows Diego in the stomach and Diego hunches forward. Felix grabs the knife from his hand, kicks Diego off of him, and hurries away. Villanelle claps, amused. Diego stamps his foot in frustration. 

"Are you going to kill us?" Nadia asks and those are the first words Villanelle's heard from her other than the interview. Villanelle shrugs. 

"I'm looking for my friend. An Asian woman with amazing hair." 

"She went that way," Nadia says, pointing to the right.

"Pumpkin!" Diego scolds and Villanelle actually chuckles. What kind of pet name is that? 

She wonders what Eve would do if Villanelle called her pumpkin. 

_Eve kissed her._

"Thank you, Nadia. So, what are you guys up to?" 

Before Nadia can answer, Diego holds up a hand to silence her. "Don't answer that," he orders. 

"Come on, pumpkin," Villanelle taunts and Diego's eye twitches. 

"Why don't you just go find your friend and leave us alone before I kill you, huh?" Diego says and Villanelle mock gasps. 

"That's very rude. I thought we were having a nice time." 

Diego pulls out another knife and Villanelle snickers. 

"Do you even know how to use that?" she scoffs. 

"You want to find out?" 

"Guys, come on," Nadia interjects and Villanelle smiles at her. Nadia blushes and looks back at the ground. 

What an interesting turn of events. 

And that's when clouds suddenly darken the sky and a huge clap of thunder shakes the entire arena. Villanelle raises an eyebrow and a strike of lightning hits a tree just a few yards away from them. Nadia shrieks and Diego pulls her behind him. Rain starts falling down, but it stings to the touch and then hail the size of a basketball just narrowly misses Villanelle's head. 

She pulls the jacket hood over her head and takes off running, wincing every time the water lands on her hands and face. It must be some sort of acid rain that the Gamemakers have made. They're probably just trying to speed things along. 

Sure enough, a few seconds later, there's a cannon and Villanelle's heart lurches. 

Was it Eve? Eve, who kissed her just about an hour ago?

She sees a cave straight ahead and sprints toward it, but just before she reaches it, a block of hail hits the ground next to her and shatters, sending a shard of ice straight into her leg. She whimpers and dives for cover, Nadia and Diego right behind her. 

"What was that?" Diego asks, running his hands over Nadia to make sure she's not hurt. Villanelle gingerly pulls the piece of hail out of her right shin and her hands come away coated in blood. Luckily, she doesn't think it went that deep so she won't need to ask Konstantin to send her stitches. She will just need to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't become infected. 

There's another lightning strike and then a cannon. 

"Pumpkin, are you alright?" Diego asks quietly and Nadia just nods. 

It starts raining harder and the three of them scoot back away from the opening so the drops don't hit them. Villanelle wipes the blood of her hands and studied them. There's faint red spots where the rain had touched her and she gasps with the painful realization that her face probably has the same spots. Her beautiful face. 

"Why don't you get some sleep, Pumpkin?" Diego suggests. Nadia glances at Villanelle, but lays down and moves around to get comfortable. Diego sits down next to her, never taking his eyes of Villanelle. 

"What happens if you two are the only ones left in the Games? Will you let her kill you?" Villanelle wonders out loud. There's just something so satisfying about pissing him off. 

"I would die for her," he says. "As she would for me." 

Villanelle snorts. "I think she'd kill you in a heartbeat." 

"You don't know her. She loves me." 

"You really believe that, don't you?" 

Diego's nose flares up and Villanelle tries not to smile. It's almost too easy. "Say something stupid again and I'll kill you." 

"Like you killed Felix? Slit his throat, obviously," Villanelle mocks in a deep voice and Diego shakes his head before grabbing a knife from his jacket. Villanelle pulls out one of her knives and points it in his direction. In a flash, Nadia is off the ground, holding yet another knife at Villanelle. 

"I got this one, Pumpkin," Diego mutters. 

Villanelle turns to look at her. "You are not a pumpkin. You are beautiful." Nadia blushes again, but her eyes harden. 

"I want to do this," she tells Diego, who lowers his knife. Nadia throws hers, and it buries itself in Diego's chest. He falls over, dead before he hits the ground. A cannon goes off. "I am not a pumpkin," Nadia agrees. 

Villanelle opens her arms up and Nadia drops the knife before hugging her. Villanelle raises her eyebrows, waits for a few seconds, and then drives her blade into Nadia's stomach. She cries out in pain and drops next to Diego. 

Villanelle doesn't even watch her die. 

She needs to find Eve. 

***

Eve had done a complete circle back to the Cornucopia. She knew Villanelle would be coming after her - especially after the kiss - but she still wasn't sure what the other woman wants with her. Eve wants to team up with her more than she'd care to admit, but she wonders what people at home would say if she becomes allies with someone who clearly has no qualms about killing. 

She wonders what that says about her. 

Plus Eve is still supposed to be with Jess and Elena, and she has no clue were they are. She figures she's not going to find them and wishes them the best. 

She's just eaten her second loaf of bread and washed it down with a bottle of water when the storm starts. She hears people yelling out and it doesn't take a genius to realize that it's not just a regular storm. Of course the Gamemakers would add a twist. It'd be too easy to give the tributes fresh rain to drink. 

She hears footsteps on the metal floor of the Cornucopia and whirls around, grabbing the knife. 

It's Bor'ka. 

She hesitantly lowers the weapon. 

"Are you okay?" she asks. It's a stupid question. 

"I'm really hungry." 

She leads him over to the barrels of food. He takes some of everything and stuffs it in his mouth, making a delighted noise. 

"The rain is poison or something," Bor'ka tells her with his mouth full. Eve nods. 

"I figured, yeah." A giant chunk of hail hits the roof of the Cornucopia and it sounds like a gong. Lightning strikes a tree near them and Eve jumps at the thunder. "Jesus."

"It's bad out there." 

Eve nods in agreement. So many questions fill her mind, the top one being: _how has he survived this long?_ It's only been about a day and a half since the Games began, but Bor'ka is only twelve and he's small. It's impressive. 

The storm quickly dies down after that and Eve and Bor'ka walk to the opening of the Cornucopia. They carefully peek out and then -

\- another strike of lightning comes down and hits Bor'ka. He goes flying backwards, hits the metal wall, and slides down. Eve screams his name and then quickly covers her mouth. She dashes over to him. His eyes are dazed and he's struggling to breathe. 

"Oh my god, oh my god," Eve chants. "Just hang on, you'll be okay. It's going to be okay. I'll get you some water." 

By the time she comes back with a bottle, Bor'ka is dead. 

Eve falls to her knees and just stares at his young body. 

And then anger bolts through her veins. The Games are completely unfair and brutal and in the Capitol, this is prime entertainment for them! A twelve year old boy just died at the hands of Gamemakers and it will not affect the Capitol at all. Meanwhile in District 11, his loss will hit hard. 

"Eve, what happened?" Villanelle asks, running into the Cornucopia. Eve laughs bitterly. Of course she found her. "Wait, did you kill him?" 

"Don't be ridiculous," Eve snaps. "It was the lightning." 

"Oh." 

A tear falls down Eve's cheek and Villanelle gently touches her back. 

"Eve, we have to go. Others will have heard you scream. It's not safe here." 

"Well you can just kill them, can't you? Like you killed everyone else?" 

Villanelle frowns. "That's the point of the Games, Eve. It's kill or be killed. Come on, we need to get out of here," she says urgently, tugging at Eve's arm. Eve takes one last look at Bor'ka and lets herself be pulled away with Villanelle. 

They find a cave that's not deep and set up camp there. They had taken food and water from the Cornucopia so they split a loaf of bread and each drink a bottle of water. The anthem comes on and Eve and Villanelle walk out so they can see the fallen tributes. 

_Pyotr_

_District 7_

_Killed by: lightning_

_Mo_

_District 8_

_Killed by: rain_

_Nadia_

_District 9_

_Killed by: Villanelle_

Eve glances at Villanelle, but she keeps looking at the sky. 

_Diego_

_District 9_

_Killed by: Nadia_

Something must have gone down between the three of them earlier, Eve guesses. 

_Bor'ka_

_District 11_

_Killed by: lightning_

The anthem concludes and the sky goes dark. Eve is relieved that neither Jess or Elena has died yet.

"So, who's left?" Villanelle asks. 

Eve thinks for a moment. "Us. Niko. Raymond and Aaron. Jess and Elena. Irina. Kenny." She counts in her head. "There must be one more that I'm missing."

"Felix," Villanelle exclaims, snapping her fingers. "Diego had a knife to his throat and Felix still somehow managed to escape." 

"Ten left." 

"Ten left," Villanelle repeats. 

"Are you going to kill me?"

Villanelle thinks about this for a moment and then shakes her head. "No." 

"Promise?" 

"Promise." As a gesture, she takes the knives out of her jackets and gives them to Eve, who sets them down on the ground beside her. Villanelle crouches down and rolls up her pant leg. Eve sees dried blood and a scratch a few inches long. 

"What happened?" 

Villanelle glances up. "Hail. Can you pass me the water?" 

Eve grabs the bottle and motions for Villanelle to sit down with her leg out. 

"Whatever you say, boss," Villanelle says and Eve rolls her eyes. She pours some water on the cut and tenderly washes the old blood away. Villanelle watches as Eve's face scrunches up in concentration and wants to lean forward and kiss her again. Eve's eyes flit up to meet hers for a second and then she focuses back on cleaning the wound. She then rips off a piece of her jacket and ties it around Villanelle's leg. "Thank you." 

Eve coughs and leans back on her knees. 

"Now what?" Eve asks. 

"Now we sleep. I can take the first watch if you'd like," Villanelle offers. 

"No, I can do it. You sleep first. I'll wake you up in a few hours." 

She half-expects Villanelle to argue, but she just grins and lays down. "Goodnight, pumpkin." 

"Do not call me that," Eve hisses, her tone sharp and deadly. Villanelle just chuckles and turns over. 

She's just about to drift off when she hears Eve whisper, "Goodnight." 


	9. Six tributes left

"You kissed me yesterday," Villanelle says, bringing it up so casually that she could be talking about the weather. 

"Yeah, well, you were pinning me against a wall," Eve says. 

"So you kissed me to...what? Throw me off?" 

Eve nods. 

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Villanelle asks, leaning forward so that Eve can see the tiny flecks of color in her brown eyes. Eve's breath catches in her throat. Villanelle really is beautiful. 

"Yes," she stammers and Villanelle smirks. 

"If I pinned you against the cave right now, would you kiss me again?" 

"Probably not." 

"Will you kiss me anyway?" Villanelle's eyes drop down to Eve's lips, licking her own. Overcome by a flash of bravery - or just lust, maybe - Eve surges forward, pressing her mouth against Villanelle's. It's a real kiss this time and Villanelle moans. 

The kisses grow hot and heavy and then Villanelle is gently pushing Eve to the ground and climbing over her, holding herself up on her arms. Villanelle moves down Eve's jaw and bites. Eve gasps sharply and feels Villanelle grin against her skin. 

It's when Villanelle starts kissing her neck that Eve realizes exactly where they are. 

"Cameras," she hisses and then groans because Villanelle has sucked on her pulse point. 

Villanelle stops what she's doing to say "Let them watch" and then she resumes. Eve can feel herself getting wetter. Her entire body feels like it's on fire right now and the spot between her legs is throbbing with need. 

"Oh, god, Villanelle," she whimpers as the other woman's hand starts brushes against her breast. "Please, please." The hand goes lower and it's almost there, it's almost where Eve needs it so bad and -

\- "Eve!" 

Eve wakes up with a jolt, feeling uncomfortable warm. Villanelle is crouching next to her, looking amused. 

"What were you dreaming about?" 

"Hmm?" Eve says while she gets up and heads over to their stash of food. 

"You said my name while you were sleeping."

"Did I?" She tears off a piece of bread and shoves it in her mouth. 

"Yeah, you did. So? What was happening?" There's a devilish glint in her eye because she knows exactly what the dream was about; she just wants to hear Eve say it out loud. 

"Oh, I...I don't remember," Eve lies lamely. 

"Mm, alright. Let me know if you do remember it." 

Eve finishes her breakfast and then asks Villanelle what the plan is for today. The blonde takes out a piece of paper from her bag and writes down the names of the ten tributes left. 

"I'm surprised Niko has made it this long," Eve muses. 

"He looks like someone stuck a mustache on some fudge," Villanelle says and Eve turns to stare at her. 

"What does that have to do with anything?" 

Villanelle shrugs. "I'm just saying." Eve rolls her eyes and looks back at the paper. 

"I really don't want to have to hurt Jess or Elena. Let's just leave them alone and hope something kills them before we have to." God, she feels like such an awful person saying that, but it's true. There's no point in trying to be nice. "We also have to keep in mind that we don't know where the other people are." 

"Right. I say we go after Kenny and Felix. Maybe Irina and Niko, if there's time." 

Just then, there's a cannon. 

"That's one less tribute we need to worry about," Eve says. "Okay, I think I have a plan. Green leaves smoke like crazy." 

Villanelle blinks at her. "What?" 

"We burn green leaves. The other tributes see smoke and think 'wow that person is really stupid'. They show up and you'll kill them."

"You are an evil genius, Eve." 

It's not a normal compliment, but Eve beams nonetheless. 

They walk about half a mile north of their cave and set the first fire. Eve's just about to go hide some fifty yards away when Villanelle asks, "Would you like to watch?" Eve looks at her like she's crazy and Villanelle shrugs with pursed lips. 

It doesn't take long before the trap works. Felix strolls on up, throwing Diego's knife up in the air and catching it. He freezes when he sees Villanelle leaning against a rock, nonchalantly picking at the dried blood on her own knife. 

"Hi Felix." 

"I think we would make a good team," he says, cutting straight to the chase. Villanelle raises an eyebrow. 

"What are you, like ten?" 

"I'm fifteen and I'm tough. I have five big brothers." 

"Five big brothers?" Villanelle mocks in a low voice. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm already working with someone." Her eyes widen. "Felix, what's on your face?" 

There's nothing on his face. 

"What - what do you mean?" He starts anxiously rubbing his hands over his face. "Did I get it?" 

"No, come here." He obeys without a second thought. 

God, these people are stupid. 

Except for Eve. She is brilliant. 

Villanelle pretends to wipe something off his cheek with one hand while the other reaches up into her hair. 

She pulls out the gold hairpin and stabs him right in the eye. She presses the small button on the side to inject poison into his body. He cries out softy and falls to his knees. 

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that," Villanelle says gleefully, watching the light flicker in his one eye. "So thank you. Really." 

He drops to the dirt, dead. At the sound of the cannon, Eve comes out of the bushes she was sitting in and walks over to Villanelle and observes Felix's dead body. 

"Yikes," is all Eve says because she's left speechless at the sight of Villanelle with her hair down. She didn't think it was possible for her to get any more gorgeous. 

And then she remembers her dream and her cheeks heat up. 

"Can we switch up the plan now? I'm bored." 

"We did the fire _once_ ," Eve says, annoyance creeping into her voice. 

"But it's just going to be the same as this one except less fun because I used the hairpin already," Villanelle whines. 

"Well if you'd like to come up with your own plan, then go for it. Try not to get yourself killed," Eve snaps and then starts to storm off. She's not even sure why she's so pissed off. Maybe her pride is wounded because apparently, her plan is boring. 

"Eve, wait," Villanelle calls, jogging to catch up. "Where are you going?" 

"Back to the cave."

"Why are you being like this?" 

Eve doesn't answer. She keeps walking and angrily kicks a rock. 

And then the ground explodes. 

***

Villanelle is thrown back by the blast and she lands on the ground. Hard. She grimaces in pain and then shouts Eve's name. She shouts it again because she can barely hear herself over the ringing in her ears. 

Eve is lying a few feet away from her, unconscious. Villanelle scrambles over and shakes her by the shoulders. 

"Eve. Eve." She lightly slaps her face. 

And then a horrifying thought makes her run cold. 

What if Eve is dead? 

She grabs Eve's wrist and moves her fingers up and down, trying to locate the pulse point. It's faint, but it's there. Villanelle almost sobs in relief. 

"Eve, wake up." 

She finds the pulse point again, but this time, she doesn't feel anything.

"Fuck!" she screams and then she's pumping her hands frantically on her chest, desperately trying to start her heart again. 

She can't lose Eve. She can't lose the one person who makes her feel alive. 

She vaguely remembers Konstantin teaching her a way to get air flowing back into the body. Villanelle pinches Eve's nose shut, forces Eve's mouth open, and then leans down and starts to breathe into Eve's mouth. She does this a few times and then presses down on her chest. Repeat. 

"Eve, please," Villanelle begs, starting to feel light headed. But there hasn't been a cannon. Not yet. 

Suddenly, Eve takes a giant breath, eyes shooting open, and Villanelle throws her arms around her. 

"You know, if you wanted to kiss me again, you could've just asked," Eve mumbles in Villanelle's ear. 

Villanelle half chokes, half laughs. "I thought you were dead." 

"Why didn't you let me die? We can't both win. It would've been easier this way." 

To be honest, that same question had been in Villanelle's mind the entire time. "Would you have let me die?" 

Eve smiles. "Let's not find out, okay? What the hell was that?" She twists to face where the explosion happened. It was obviously a land mine of sorts, but who had planted it? Another tribute, or the Gamemakers? She's not sure how it would've been another tribute. It would've taken immense skill to dig out a bomb from the platforms by the Cornucopia and then replanted and rewired it, but maybe Kenny from tech District 3 could've figured it out. 

"Looks like someone is out to get us," Villanelle jokes, but Eve tilts her head thoughtfully. "Come on, let's get you back to the cave." Villanelle helps Eve stand up and they carefully walk back, throwing rocks in front of them in case there's more land mines. They get to the cave unharmed and hear two cannons go off. Eve swallows hard and closes her eyes. That could've been her. 

Eve naps until the anthem comes on and they go outside to watch. 

_Felix_

_District 4_

_Killed by: Villanelle_

_Jess_

_District 5_

_Killed by: Kenny_

_Elena_

_District 10_

_Killed by: Kenny_

Eve's stomach lurches. Her two friends are dead. And it's looking like her theory about Kenny was right, only he didn't just plant the one bomb. 

_Niko_

_District 12_

_Killed by: Irina_

"Well, shit," Villanelle says, clearly impressed that a thirteen year old girl was able to kill Niko. 

"Six of us left." Eve's remark hangs between them in the air with a feeling of impending doom. Only four tributes left and then it's just the two of them. Will Villanelle immediately kill her? Will she make them fight? Eve starts to feel sick. 

"Hey," Villanelle says quietly. Eve turns to look at her, biting her bottom lip. "We'll figure it out." 

"How?" Eve's voice cracks when she says this and she hates how weak it makes her sound. 

"I don't know. Let's just sleep right now. We still have four more tributes to outlive so who knows if we'll even have a problem." Villanelle's tone is light and breezy, an attempt to cheer Eve up, but it only makes her feel more defeated. 

No matter what, she doesn't win. 

"You get some rest first. I'll keep watch," Villanelle offers and Eve just nods and lays down on her side. She closes her eyes and feels Villanelle get down next to her. Before she can ask what she's doing, Villanelle spoons Eve, nuzzling her face into Eve's hair. She presses a gentle kiss to her neck and goosebumps spread down Eve's body. Villanelle's heat is radiating off of her and Eve scooches closer, feeling safe for the first time since she's been in the arena. 

She's asleep in seconds and dreams of Villanelle, once again. 


End file.
